User blog:GFreeman/K9 Unit
The K9 Unit is a special enemy in PAYDAY 2. They serve as fast-deploying squad-based melee-oriented strike units that moves quickly under fire to strike at any personnel deemed dangerous. Their arrival can be signaled by the sound of dogs barking and the noise of their paws scampering across the ground. Behavior K9 Unit attack dogs will usually spawn in the down time between assault waves to strike at players attempting to regroup and restock, or right after a wave has begun on Overkill and above. They often deploy in packs of 3 to 5, depending on the number of player-controlled heisters present on the map. Due to their relatively short height and agility, K9 Units are hard targets to acquire during a firefight and even harder to bring down effectively despite their low health. They are capable of leaping over low objects to infiltrate via windows, ducking under tables to evade damage, going prone under cars, as well as rolling sideways to avoid gunfire. Most commonly, K9 Units are deployed in packs that track down and assault players when they are vulnerable. One of them will usually begin attacking the player first, in order to disorient them and leave them vulnerable to its brethren who then join the fray. K9 dogs have three types of attack that they employ against the crew: a simple bite and scratch attack, a lunge that instantly downs a heister similar to the Cloaker's dropkick, though players in this state are still able to retaliate with their firearms, and a mauling ravage on said players in bleedout that will continuously throw off their aim and gradually driving them into full incapacitation. After successfully taking down a heister, a dog may seek another target. A player struck by a lunge doesn't count as being downed in a traditional sense, but being mauled into total incapacitation does. As such it is most advisable to rescue teammates in distress from an attack dog before they give in. While capable of maneuvering short objects, players are relatively safe from K9 Units when standing on obstructions 3 meters and higher. If no other viable targets are around, a dog may stare continuously at a player and growl or bark, attracting nearby police attention. K9 Units, if possible, will team up with nearby Cloakers to form agile strike teams that can instantly take down a player. They will also seek protection behind Shields if said units are present on the site. Strategy It is recommended to take them down from afar, although any weapon capable of throwing a wall of lead can drop a K9 Unit at close range if a player manages to get the drop on one and focus fire. At point blank range, a leveled Enforcer could quickly kill a dog with a shotgun, such as the Locomotive 12G, with two rounds to the head on Overkill difficulty. Fast-firing and high-damage weapons such as the AMR-16 are also viable with good shot placement. K9 Units are extremely fast and hard to hit when on the move, but they occasionally stop to "hide" behind objects. This is an opportune time to spray them with lead. Rarely, a dog's leap can be dodged or avoided by moving sideways as he approaches. The lunge can still connect if you are running directly backwards, so be sure to move to one side as well to help throw their aim off. Sometimes moving towards a dog and immediately crouching down can make it jump over you, causing it to miss and land behind you. The attack dog jumps over tables and waist-high obstacles while executing this move. In addition, if you hear the K9 Unit's panting idling sounds and cannot see a live dog, keep away from large mobs of SWAT units until the noise ceases. Given the dogs' habit of setting ambushes around downed players as well as their tendency to travel in packs, it is critical for players to alert their teammates after being knocked down by one so that they can clear the area before attempting to revive. Alternatively, a Mastermind with the Inspire skill can revive teammates from a distance, although caution is still advised if you suspect a K9 Unit has knocked down your teammates. A simple way to tell if a dog has downed a teammate is that a lunged down player will take repeated health damage behind the bleedout timer. Additionally, be very vigilant about marking K9 Units during heists that take place during the night or when the police deploy their smoke grenades. Their low profile, coupled with their fast sprint speed, makes it quite easy to lose sight of them once they reach the shadows or when they attempt to hide inside a smoke cloud. K9 Units will usually only spawn between Assault waves, though on Overkill and above they have a chance of appearing during the beginning moments of Assault waves to assist other special units in intercepting the crew. A maximum of 3–5 dogs can appear quickly during the cool down period between Assaults. It is strongly suggested to stay together when pushing for objectives or throwing bags and to watch your shortcuts. A head-height object can offer players reprieve from K9 Units as they cannot climb very high, though this is offset by the small quantity of viable platforms of such type in any given map. Unlike most enemies, K9 Units are NOT affected by the effects of ECM Feedback, so think twice before setting up a ECM jammer to cover your back. Though ill-advised, using a K9 dog as an impromptu healing method is viable, as a lunged heister gets partially healed if helped back up, and the attack does not incur a bleedout penalty for that player if they are helped up in time. This tactic is rarely used, however, and is largely frowned upon during online play, due to the fact that the lunged player may be in a hazardous situation (i.e middle of an Assault wave) where the team could not reach, and having a member in custody can cost the team dearly. It is also a rather suicidal tactic to pull off on Death Wish, as the meager amount of health regained probably isn't going to worth the trouble and, seeing how overwhelming the enemy fire is on this mode, may get the player shot down more easily than usual. Alternatively, the dog(s) who took down the previous heister may still linger around the site and may swarm anyone attempting to rescue the downed player. Weapons for Countering K9 Units Assault Rifles Because of their versatility, assault rifles are effective against K9 Units at all ranges, although their mediocre damage per second ratings require the player to maneuver carefully as the dogs can take quite a few hits to the body. Shotguns Whilst most shotguns are slow to fire, they are an effective counter to attack dogs due to their extremely high damage. Without Overkill active, a high-power shotgun will need at least 2 headshots or 6–8 body shots to kill a K9 dog. Pistols In most cases pistols will be an undesirable choice for stopping K9 Units, though the raw stopping power of the Deagle and Bronco can quickly halt a charge if the user is accurate enough. In the hands of a Mastermind, some of the other less powerful semiautomatics may also prove effective. Sub Machine Guns Submachineguns with large magazine size and high fire rate (Mark 10, CMP, Kobus 90, SpecOps) can quickly kill a dog before it can react and take you down. This is especially the case for the higher-damage SMGs like the SpecOps, which should need only ~4 headshots to kill with a maximum-damage configuration. Light Machine Guns Given their high rates of fire, large magazines, and respectable damage, LMGs are quite effective - though care should be taken, as sustained 'spray and pray' fire will likely be ineffective at all but the shortest ranges due to recoil and inaccuracy. Sniper Rifles With their slow rates of fire, sniper rifles are a poor choice for close-range takedowns. Being aimed carefully, however, means that all sniper rifles save for the Rattlesnake are capable of downing a dog in one shot. Sniper Rifles being able to penetrate most cover objects does have one subtle benefit; K9 Units that are hiding under cars or other objects can be 'flushed out', leaving their hiding place if they take too much damage - which makes them more vulnerable to other weapons. Alternately, the dog can simply be headshot through cover with good aim. Trip Mines As mentioned before, strategically placed tripmines can be used to kill K9 Units as they roam around the map. The key to ensuring the mine works is to place it low, about knee-height or one inch below that, though this runs the risk of the mines being tripped by fleeing civilians or incoming law enforcers. Alternately, the mines could be switched into sensor mode to simply warn of dogs coming in at those locations. Sentry guns can serve in a similar role, as they are more than capable of ripping K9 Units apart if the sentry has both damage and accuracy upgrades. Trivia *Most attack dogs of the K9 Unit are German Shepherds, whose stereotypical portrayal as vicious canines make them suitable for use. On Death Wish, K9 dogs are depicted as Doberman Pinschers instead. **Upon close examination of the German Shepherd K9 unit, a nametag reading "Riley" can be seen on the dog's chest plate. This is a reference to the dog of the same name in Call of Duty: Ghosts. *Several heisters will have special reactions to the presence of on-site K9 Units. **When marking a K9 Unit, Wolf may ask the other heisters if they have any dog biscuits left and to toss them to distract the dogs. Alternatively, he can just bark and growl at them in a mimicked dog voice instead. **Hoxton, after being revived from a dog's lunge, may say "Dogs! I hate dogs!". This is a reference to John "Soap" MacTavish's identical line in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, addressing the playerbase's displeasure for attack dogs. It is also a nod to Raiders of the Lost Ark, in which Indiana Jones utters a similar line and from where the reference originated. **Houston and Dallas may refer to a dog named "Spike" when marking one. This hints at them having owned a similar dog in the past, and that it had died of unknown causes. John Wick may also mention his former pet when taking down a K9 Unit. **Chains may advise others to lie down and "play dead", the dogs might not attack if they do so. **After helping up a teammate who had recently been attacked by a K9 Unit, Dragan may speak about how the Interpol used to use dogs to hunt down dangerous criminals, and how it did not always "end pretty" for the felon. **Bonnie may reveal her intense phobia of dogs, saying that their howls keep her awake at night. They are apparently the only thing she does fear. **Clover may tell dogs to "play fetch the grenade". **Jacket's tape recorder usually plays the "Beware of dog!" or "Los Perros!" tracks when marking a dog, but it also has a very low chance of playing a short excerpt from Baha Men's 2000 hit "Who Let The Dogs Out?". Category:Blog posts